Sold: $141m snags Midland

Monza, Italy: The Midland formula one team has been sold to Dutch sports car manufacturer Spyker for $US106.6 million ($141.4m), the two parties have confirmed.

The team, to be called Spyker MF1 Racing, will be a 100 per cent subsidiary of Spyker Cars NV. Mike Gascoyne, who left Toyota earlier in the season, will join as the Silverstone-based team's chief technology officer from November 1, while an announcement on the engine supplier is expected soon.

"The decision to sell the team has been one of the most difficult I have ever faced," said Alex Shnaider, the Russian-born Canadian billionaire who bought the failing Jordan team early last year and changed its name to Midland.

"It is never easy to relinquish something into which one has devoted so much energy and passion. However, as much as I had hoped to witness the continuing growth of the team under our ownership, I truly believe this transaction is in the best interests of everyone involved - Midland Group, Spyker, and the team."

Toyota-powered Midland, Formula One's first Russian-licensed team, has yet to score a point this season. "At the moment, Formula One is a much more mature and understood sport in Holland than it is in Russia," Shnaider said. "I believe the new owners will be well placed to exploit the commercial and nationalistic aspects of a Dutch identity, and this is something that can only benefit the team."

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said the sale was great news. "The entry of another car manufacturer is a further endorsement of the global appeal of the sport," he said.

Spyker said Colin Kolles would remain as team principal with Michiel Mol joining the management board of both Spyker and Spyker MF1 as director of Formula One racing. Mol is the founder of Dutch internet firm Lost Boys, a team sponsor and backer of Dutch driver Christijan Albers.

Spyker said the acquisition of the team was to be finalised by the end of September with an initial payment of $US68.6m. The total transaction is to be financed by the issuing of 2,650,000 shares and an interest-free vendor loan for the remainder. Mol will take up 40 per cent of the total shares available.

"Today, my lifelong ambition became reality," Mol said. "After being involved with Formula One as a sponsor of teams and drivers for almost 10 years, I will now participate as a shareholder in a very ambitious manufacturer-owned Formula One team."

Meanwhile, McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen dashed Michael Schumacher's hopes of pole position for what could be the Ferrari great's Italian Grand Prix farewell. The Finn, widely expected to be announced as Schumacher's successor at the Italian team after Sunday's race, pipped the seven-time champion by 0.002 seconds.

Schumacher received a boost, though, when Renault rival Fernando Alonso was punished for impeding Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa and demoted from fifth to 10th place on the grid.